1. UNDER the mandate of the Employment Act of 1946, we are striving for "maximum employment." Our objective must be to provide job opportunities for all individuals willing and able to work.
2. We have already made considerable progress: unemployment fell from over 6½ percent in January 1961 to about 5 percent today. In the previous 4-year period--1957-1960--unemployment rose from 4 percent to over 6½ percent. The continued expansion in the economy for the past 44 months has expanded job opportunities while two economic recessions during the period 1957-1960 destroyed jobs.
3. About 1,500,000 new jobs a year have been created in nonfarm employment during the past 31/2 years. This triples the gain of about 500,000 jobs a year in the previous 4 Years--1957--1960.
4. In 9 months of 1964 alone:
--Unemployment has fallen from about 5 ½ percent to about 5 percent.
--The number of civilian jobs has risen 1.1 million.
--The unemployment rate for married men has fallen below 3 percent.
--The rate for all men over 20 years of age has fallen below 4 percent.
5. But the task is far from complete. Despite recent gains, jobless rates for the unskilled, the young, the Negro worker are far too high.
6. We are now beginning to feel the impact of the postwar baby boom in the labor market. There are now 1 million more 17 year olds than 18 year olds. The labor force is expected to rise by about 1 ½ million next year. These young people, on balance, are better trained than new entrants to the labor force have been in the past and they afford a reservoir of talent for the continuing improvement of our standard of living. To use this talent effectively we must accelerate the growth of new jobs.
7. New programs are being developed to extend the economic advances of the past 4 years. We must promote continued expansion of total demand, and, at the same time, devise special measures to deal with youth, the long-term unemployed and the disadvantaged groups in our population. Our ultimate employment goal--job opportunities for all persons willing and able to work--can and will be achieved in the years to come.
Note: On the same day the White House released an accompanying statement, entitled "Gains From Effective Policies for an Expanding Economy." Included as part of the statement were figures comparing actual economic activity with what it would have been if economic growth in the last 4 years had continued at the same pace as during the period 1953-60. The comparison shows, the statement pointed out, "exactly how much difference it has made to have healthy expansion instead of increasing slack." The difference was summarized as follows:
$35 billion more gross national product annually
1.7 million more nonfarm jobs
$111 more annual income per person
$7 billion more in investment wholesale prices stable, instead of 6 percent higher.
For a statement by the President announcing the series of statements on economic issues, see Item 707.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Presidential Statement No. 10 on Economic Issues: Achieving Full Employment. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241773